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Black Knight Chronicles #1-3
The Black Knight Chronicles: Omnibus Edition, Books 1-3
The Black Knight Chronicles: Lots of Vampires. No Sparkles. Serious Snark.
Contains the first three books of the series:
Hard Day's Knight
Children are missing.
The police are stumped.
Halloween is coming, and an ancient evil is on the horizon.
The vampires are the good guys.
This is not your ordinary fall weekend in Charlotte, North Carolina. Vampire private detectives Jimmy Black and Greg Knightwood have been hired to save a client from being cursed for all eternity, but end up in a bigger mess than they ever imagined.
Suddenly trapped in the middle of a serial kidnapping case, Jimmy and Greg uncover a plot to bring forth an ancient evil. Soon, they've enlisted the help of a police detective, a priest, a witch, a fallen angel and a strip club proprietor to save the world. This unlikely band of heroes battles zombies, witches, neuroses and sunburn while cracking jokes and looking for the perfect bag of O-negative.
Back in Black
Vampire detectives Jimmy Black and Greg Knightwood investigate a series of assaults plaguing the alleys of Charlotte, North Carolina. The string of hate crimes becomes personal when Jimmy's just-maybe-main-squeeze Detective Sabrina Law's cousin is attacked. Helping a lady out could get the boys killed when they end up in Faerie. Before long, they're up to their butts in trolls, dark fae and a grand battle royale. The odds are against them, but to the boys, this is just another day on the night shift--if the night shift included a steel cage match of supernaturals.
Knight Moves
Et tu, Vampire? The boys discover they may be tied to a string of serial killings at the college and that they suddenly aren't the only vampire game in town.
The vampire count in Charlotte is at least three. Or more. As far as the unhappy boys are concerned, anything more than two is a crowd not to be tolerated.
While tracking down the killer and the competition, they encounter coeds, booby traps (not related to the coeds) and a hirsute bounty hunter with a moon fetish and a bad attitude. To catch the killer, Jimmy will have to survive a dive headfirst into the great unwashed horde of Dorkdom (game night at the local comic shop).
What's a red-blood-drinking vampire to do? His job. Again.
Contains the first three books of the series:
Hard Day's Knight
Children are missing.
The police are stumped.
Halloween is coming, and an ancient evil is on the horizon.
The vampires are the good guys.
This is not your ordinary fall weekend in Charlotte, North Carolina. Vampire private detectives Jimmy Black and Greg Knightwood have been hired to save a client from being cursed for all eternity, but end up in a bigger mess than they ever imagined.
Suddenly trapped in the middle of a serial kidnapping case, Jimmy and Greg uncover a plot to bring forth an ancient evil. Soon, they've enlisted the help of a police detective, a priest, a witch, a fallen angel and a strip club proprietor to save the world. This unlikely band of heroes battles zombies, witches, neuroses and sunburn while cracking jokes and looking for the perfect bag of O-negative.
Back in Black
Vampire detectives Jimmy Black and Greg Knightwood investigate a series of assaults plaguing the alleys of Charlotte, North Carolina. The string of hate crimes becomes personal when Jimmy's just-maybe-main-squeeze Detective Sabrina Law's cousin is attacked. Helping a lady out could get the boys killed when they end up in Faerie. Before long, they're up to their butts in trolls, dark fae and a grand battle royale. The odds are against them, but to the boys, this is just another day on the night shift--if the night shift included a steel cage match of supernaturals.
Knight Moves
Et tu, Vampire? The boys discover they may be tied to a string of serial killings at the college and that they suddenly aren't the only vampire game in town.
The vampire count in Charlotte is at least three. Or more. As far as the unhappy boys are concerned, anything more than two is a crowd not to be tolerated.
While tracking down the killer and the competition, they encounter coeds, booby traps (not related to the coeds) and a hirsute bounty hunter with a moon fetish and a bad attitude. To catch the killer, Jimmy will have to survive a dive headfirst into the great unwashed horde of Dorkdom (game night at the local comic shop).
What's a red-blood-drinking vampire to do? His job. Again.
438 pages, Paperback
First published September 25, 2012
53 people are currently reading
236 people want to read
About the author
John G. Hartness
191 books592 followersJohn G. Hartness is a teller of tales, a righter of wrong, defender of ladies’ virtues, and some people call him Maurice, for he speaks of the pompatus of love.
He is also the award-winning author of the urban fantasy series The Black Knight Chronicles (Bell Bridge Books), the Bubba the Monster Hunter comedic horror series, the Quincy Harker, Demon Hunter dark fantasy series, and many other projects.
In 2016, John teamed up with a pair of other publishing industry ne’er-do-wells and founded Falstaff Books, a small press dedicated to publishing the best of genre fictions “misfit toys.”
In his copious free time John enjoys long walks on the beach, rescuing kittens from trees and playing Magic: the Gathering.
For free short stories and to follow his activities and appearances on his newsletter, follow this link - http://eepurl.com/fV4In
He is also the award-winning author of the urban fantasy series The Black Knight Chronicles (Bell Bridge Books), the Bubba the Monster Hunter comedic horror series, the Quincy Harker, Demon Hunter dark fantasy series, and many other projects.
In 2016, John teamed up with a pair of other publishing industry ne’er-do-wells and founded Falstaff Books, a small press dedicated to publishing the best of genre fictions “misfit toys.”
In his copious free time John enjoys long walks on the beach, rescuing kittens from trees and playing Magic: the Gathering.
For free short stories and to follow his activities and appearances on his newsletter, follow this link - http://eepurl.com/fV4In
Ratings & Reviews
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Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
December 20, 2013
I'll keep this short and sweet:
This is a fun urban fantasy series and I plowed through the first three books in as many days. Good amount of action, likeable characters, and plenty of geeky humor.
If you like the Dresden Files and/or the Iron Druid chronicles, you'll find this series fits like a glove.
This is a fun urban fantasy series and I plowed through the first three books in as many days. Good amount of action, likeable characters, and plenty of geeky humor.
If you like the Dresden Files and/or the Iron Druid chronicles, you'll find this series fits like a glove.
March 25, 2013
All three books are an excellent introduction to these characters. Two vampire PIs and a human female cop immune to vampire "mojo" make for an interesting combination, especially when you throw in the childhood friend who grew up to become a priest, and learning the existence of fairies, trolls, Master Vampires, and the vampire who started all this by turning one PI, who accidentally turns his best friend.
All in all, a great start to the series, and I look forward to others.
All in all, a great start to the series, and I look forward to others.
September 17, 2015
There's a lot of cliches. The story is nothing but predictable. The main character seems more focused on snark then anything else. But, overall it's a fun read. I enjoyed it a lot, taking it as the brain candy it is. I wouldn't rank it as my top five, or top twenty urban fantasy favorites, but a light hearted read that kept me reading.
September 26, 2022
This review is for the Audible Audio edition of the book. As I am no longer able to add a new edition, which really sucks, I am going to put what passes for my thoughts here.
I enjoy Hartness's humor. He's offbeat and keeps the story interesting. The characters are, on the whole, likable. It's cool that he allows them room to grow and develop over the course of the series. The narrator was okay, but none of the characters sounded like they were from the South. Living there myself, it was a minor irritant, but not enough of one to keep me from having a good time.
I enjoy Hartness's humor. He's offbeat and keeps the story interesting. The characters are, on the whole, likable. It's cool that he allows them room to grow and develop over the course of the series. The narrator was okay, but none of the characters sounded like they were from the South. Living there myself, it was a minor irritant, but not enough of one to keep me from having a good time.
October 29, 2020
John Harness weaves an amazing tale in Urban fantasy with the Black Knight Chronicles. He creates believable and lovable characters, villains that you want to hate and wraps them all in a story that sucks you in. Each book within the series is better than the last as the stories get more detailed. John is one of those rare writers that pours his heart into the work and it comes through in his believable characters.
January 30, 2018
Three Black Knight books in one. The omnibus has the duo fighting other supernaturals in an attempt to keep decency and help others with their detective agency. The stories are interesting, occasionally funny, and entertaining. The narrator does a good job!
August 13, 2019
Obviously a first run and not well thought out. I can see elements from this story and the Bubba/Harker stories (e.g. Catholic priests, vampires, angels, supernatural bar owners, visiting the fae realm, fight club, etc...). It doesn't hold together as well. Don't bother.
October 16, 2017
I hadn't read any of John's Black Knight Chronicles before and this was a great intro.
October 2, 2015
Hmm. Which virtue should I extoll first? I will begin with my summarizing statement. -All in all, Excellent.
The characters in this are awesome. Well done from hero to villain and all between. Plots are tightly knit with no holes I could poke in a first read. My only real grumble is that endings are of the "to be continued" variety. I hate that in books but recognize that sitcom style story structure has made it's way into literature.
Here's my breakdown:
Humor- 8
Eye Rolling - 1
Adventure - 10
Fluffy - N/A
Re-read Potential - Extremely High
I loved the style of humor. The snark and puns were right in my comfort zone. Not too mean, not too much, just right. And the author hit a lot of my geek culture buttons with his references.
This author has a great flair for the dramatic stereotype references. They're done in a funny sarcastic way while also leveraging a readers cultural expectations for said stereotype. The following example is from the perspective of a gangly geek squad dude who is not mushy and happens to be good with weapons.
Example:
"So you didn't--" M asked, stepping closer.
"I could never," T replied.
He held out his arms, and the two of them collided like clichéd movie lovers running through the surf. He actually picker her up and swung her around in a circle before putting down and laying a kiss on the Faerie Queen that curled ~my~ toes.
The adventures got better and better with each book. Some high adventure books leave you rolling your eyes the further you go and saying, "Really? ANOTHER knife fight with that same 'clever' move narrowly clinching your victory?" Not this. I found the balance of action and other story elements to be pretty well done and didn't get bored with any "insert action scene here" page fillers.
Another favorable point is that these vampires are not stereotypical. They're geek dudes frozen into their awkward 22 year old physiques. One is pudgy the other is gangly. Their vampiric skills gain is kinda like a Magic character. One has greater speed and hearing but only a so so sense of smell. The other is super strong with an excellent sniffer but has zero agility and moderate speed. I so appreciated that they're not super studly, angst ridden supermen who can read minds.
There was no sex or cuss words, so while I would not put the book in the YA genre, I think it'd be fine for your average high schooler to read.
The characters in this are awesome. Well done from hero to villain and all between. Plots are tightly knit with no holes I could poke in a first read. My only real grumble is that endings are of the "to be continued" variety. I hate that in books but recognize that sitcom style story structure has made it's way into literature.
Here's my breakdown:
Humor- 8
Eye Rolling - 1
Adventure - 10
Fluffy - N/A
Re-read Potential - Extremely High
I loved the style of humor. The snark and puns were right in my comfort zone. Not too mean, not too much, just right. And the author hit a lot of my geek culture buttons with his references.
This author has a great flair for the dramatic stereotype references. They're done in a funny sarcastic way while also leveraging a readers cultural expectations for said stereotype. The following example is from the perspective of a gangly geek squad dude who is not mushy and happens to be good with weapons.
Example:
"So you didn't--" M asked, stepping closer.
"I could never," T replied.
He held out his arms, and the two of them collided like clichéd movie lovers running through the surf. He actually picker her up and swung her around in a circle before putting down and laying a kiss on the Faerie Queen that curled ~my~ toes.
The adventures got better and better with each book. Some high adventure books leave you rolling your eyes the further you go and saying, "Really? ANOTHER knife fight with that same 'clever' move narrowly clinching your victory?" Not this. I found the balance of action and other story elements to be pretty well done and didn't get bored with any "insert action scene here" page fillers.
Another favorable point is that these vampires are not stereotypical. They're geek dudes frozen into their awkward 22 year old physiques. One is pudgy the other is gangly. Their vampiric skills gain is kinda like a Magic character. One has greater speed and hearing but only a so so sense of smell. The other is super strong with an excellent sniffer but has zero agility and moderate speed. I so appreciated that they're not super studly, angst ridden supermen who can read minds.
There was no sex or cuss words, so while I would not put the book in the YA genre, I think it'd be fine for your average high schooler to read.
September 28, 2018
Contemporary fantasy? Yes. Vampires? Yes. My kind of thing? No. But these stories were.
Getting vamped wasn't deliberate but that doesn't mean the boys can't fight the good fight, even though they're most concerned about avoiding too much public attention and not adding stakes to their problems.
Unfortunately, the world is well-populated with a variety of baddies--other vamps included--and keeping a low profile might not be possible as they struggle to save the unsuspecting "normal" world from various pending disasters.
(It's hard to write a review and not be spoilery.)
Fun.
Getting vamped wasn't deliberate but that doesn't mean the boys can't fight the good fight, even though they're most concerned about avoiding too much public attention and not adding stakes to their problems.
Unfortunately, the world is well-populated with a variety of baddies--other vamps included--and keeping a low profile might not be possible as they struggle to save the unsuspecting "normal" world from various pending disasters.
(It's hard to write a review and not be spoilery.)
Fun.
October 23, 2013
Okay, these books were funny. They were snarky, they were fast paced and they were escapist. And I enjoyed them all incredibly. The characters are not what you'd think of when you first think of vampires. They aren't brooding. Not particularly sexy. They don't sparkle. They're regular guys who happened to get turned. And now they are making the best of things, Dick Tracy style.
If you like Jim Butcher, you will probably like the Black Knight Chronicles. I know I did.
If you like Jim Butcher, you will probably like the Black Knight Chronicles. I know I did.
April 8, 2014
We read this for book club because he is a local author. I am glad I supported him by purchasing the Kindle edition, however, vampires, werewolves and urban fantasy just ain't my thing!
I also found it to be cliched and the characters extremely immature, even Sabrina Law, the CMPD detective who begins dating James. Her character is obviously written from a mail point of view because other than being described as 'hot', she is not developed outside of her ability to point guns and battle.
I also found it to be cliched and the characters extremely immature, even Sabrina Law, the CMPD detective who begins dating James. Her character is obviously written from a mail point of view because other than being described as 'hot', she is not developed outside of her ability to point guns and battle.
July 15, 2013
It's the Dresden Files meets Vampire: The Masquerade, which really could have been quite good. What almost killed it for me were all the pop culture references, it's like the written version of clumsy product placement in films. There are also various inconsistencies in the details of the plots, nothing breaking just jarring.
July 14, 2015
Book 3 was the best, 1 & 2 were pretty bad
The first two books tried way too hard. The plots seemed ridiculous, even for comedic urban fantasy. The author seems to have hit his stride with book 3. I almost didn't read the third book after not liking one and two, but since I paid for the omnibus I did. Now I'll read book 4 to see if the series gets even better.
The first two books tried way too hard. The plots seemed ridiculous, even for comedic urban fantasy. The author seems to have hit his stride with book 3. I almost didn't read the third book after not liking one and two, but since I paid for the omnibus I did. Now I'll read book 4 to see if the series gets even better.
October 13, 2013
More like 3.5 stars, but it made me laugh out loud so I'm giving the round up. Decent urban fantasy, not quite on the Kadrey/Stross level, but very amusing. Some plot holes, and the last book's ending was a little off, but I hope this author will write more.
November 21, 2013
Another Daily Deal, this one actually worth reading.
They were funny, fast paced, and had interesting characters.
I didn't realize it was three books in one when I bought it, so real value for money on the daily deal this time!
I would definitely buy any others that get written.
They were funny, fast paced, and had interesting characters.
I didn't realize it was three books in one when I bought it, so real value for money on the daily deal this time!
I would definitely buy any others that get written.
June 20, 2015
Hero complex
After reading this I can't help but think that nice guys finish last and no good deed goes unpunished, since if they had a little more self preservation or selfishness they would get into so much trouble
After reading this I can't help but think that nice guys finish last and no good deed goes unpunished, since if they had a little more self preservation or selfishness they would get into so much trouble
September 17, 2016
Detectives, vampires, faeries, werewolves - all in one series
Well written detective stories, decently developed characters, enough action to keep you reading, and even a little romance and philosophy.
Well written detective stories, decently developed characters, enough action to keep you reading, and even a little romance and philosophy.
May 31, 2013
I liked these books. Some things seemed like the were contradictory, though I couldn't give specific examples. I really liked the relationship between the two friends though.
June 25, 2014
A book about two vampire detectives sounds a bit weird, but Hartness is a wonderful writer who makes it work. I thoroughly enjoyed 3 books in this omnibus.
July 20, 2013
A lighter hearted book about the paranormal and enjoyable. By the time i got to the end of the omnibus i felt quite in tune with the characters, i hope there are more to this series!
April 4, 2015
Good stories, with much owing to Jim Butcher, it seems to me. The writing is, I'm sad to say, sloppy in parts, but I enjoyed these nevertheless.
August 1, 2015
Fun!
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews